Following an unknown injury, a person named Roman was rushed to hospital. Doctors were unable to figure out his condition as Roman slipped in and out of consciousness for over a week. Each time, Roman believes he saw the afterlife where he was greeted by a mysterious figure in a sea of light.
However, since his recovery, Roman now believes he sees these figures in the real world.
Roman wrote on the Near Death Experience Research Foundation: “I found myself walking down a hallway with a male figure who was much taller than my 6’2” self.
“I never saw the man’s face, but I remember him asking me, ‘Are you ready? Are you on board?’
“I always answered the same way, ‘Yes, I’m ready. I’m on board.’ As we walked side-by-side toward a bright light at the end of the hallway, there were many people walking the other way.
“None of these people made eye contact or spoke, but they seemed to be walking in a very determined manner away from the light.
“I never got to the end of the hallway, so I don’t know what was beyond the light. This went on for over eight days of a 10-day stay in the hospital.
“Since that time, I am constantly seeing small shadowy figures in my peripheral vision that seem to vanish when I turn my head.”
While Roman believes his experience is proof of the afterlife, researchers state the vivid vision is actually associated with a surge in brain activity as one dies.
Researchers from the University of Michigan came to this conclusion after they clinically induced cardiac arrest in rats while simultaneously monitoring their brain activity.
They found a huge surge in brain activity in the final 30 seconds of the rodents’ life.
Jimo Borjigin, PhD, associate professor of molecular and integrative physiology and associate professor of neurology, said: “This study, performed in animals, is the first dealing with what happens to the neurophysiological state of the dying brain.
“We reasoned that if near-death experience stems from brain activity, neural correlates of consciousness should be identifiable in humans or animals even after the cessation of cerebral blood flow.”
Essentially, if the brain is more active, one might have vivid visions, leading them to believe they had seen the afterlife.
Dr Borjigin added: “The prediction that we would find some signs of conscious activity in the brain during cardiac arrest was confirmed with the data.”
